When One Door Closes, Look for the Open Window
by BriWolf
Summary: Shh... tell me what happened, I'll help you through it," Sachiko murmured, suspecting that Axel’s boyfriend had broken up with him. Axel took a deep breath and then spoke again. "Roxas is dead." See inside for warnings and pairings.
1. Prologue

When One Door Closes, Look for the Open Window

Warnings: yaoi/ shonen-ai/ boylove (whatever you chose to call it), death, and most likely some bad humor

Pairings: akuroku, AxelXOC

Prologue

Sachiko lay amongst her ebony-black sheets, listening to her iPod... currently set on Rise Against. As the punk music played through her orange ear buds, she contemplated... well, everything. Her mind was a million places at once. She was thinking about how meaningful the lyrics were, how her parents always seemed to cook chicken for dinner, how it seemed impossible to beat her little sister in a game of cards, but most of all, she wondered about her crush, Axel. They were friends, extremely close friends at that, but that was all they'd ever be. Axel was positively in love w/ one of her other friends, Roxas. Not that Sachiko was mad at Roxas or anything... just... she envied him. They way Axel looked at him... she wished that it was her getting that look. That--oh speak of the devil. Said red-head was at her window now. Mumbling about how some people just didn't understand the concept of a door, she sat up in bed and waited for him to come tumbling into her room. The window swung open with a small "whoosh", followed by a soft thud as Axel climbed in and tumbled to the floor. Sachiko sighed and shook her head at her best friend.

"Axel!" she complained. "There _is_ such thing as a door!" Glancing exasperatedly at him, it was then that Sachiko saw the broken, devastated look on Axel's face.

"Sachi... R-roxas... he..." he attempted to say, but quickly broke down into sobs. Sachiko was at his side in an instant, hugging him consolingly and whispering words of comfort in his ear.

"Shh... tell me what happened, I'll help you through it," she murmured, suspecting that Axel's boyfriend had broken up with him. Axel took a deep breath and then spoke again.

"Roxas is dead."

**Author's Note: Yeah… pretty extremely short. Look, I'll make a deal with you. If I get at least 1 review today, I'll post the first chapter. If not, you guys might have to wait a while… AND to encourage you to review, I'll play a little guessing game with everyone. First correct answer gets themselves mentioned in one of the chapters in the near future… what fun! (btw, my dear friend Miyoko, you are not eligible for this as you already know the answer) Alright… and the question is… What color is Sachiko's hair? (HINT: the color is mentioned somewhere in this fanfic) Good luck everyone!**

**--Bri**


	2. I: There One Minute, Gone the Next

I: There One Minute, Gone the Next

"Roxas is dead." As soon as the he spoke the words, sobs wracked Axel's body and he continued to mourn for his lost love. Sachiko was at a loss. This was something she could never have foreseen. Roxas didn't have any reason to die. He was in perfect health.

"Axel… I'm so sorry… If there's anything I can do…" she murmured.

"C-can I stay h-here for the night? I-I don't wanna go back to my room… it's too…" he broke off, but Sachiko understood what he meant.

"Of course Axel. That's fine," she told him. Gently she guided him to her bed, and the two of them lay there together, Axel crying himself to sleep over Roxas, Sachiko humming a comforting song until she too drifted off to sleep

~Morning~

Sachiko yawned and stretched, jumping slightly when her hand touched a warm body. Then, as the memories of last night flooded to her consciousness, she frowned. This was something that Axel would have a lot of trouble getting through. She herself had never been extremely close with Roxas. He was quiet, and didn't talk much. Then again, Sachiko had always had an easy time dealing with death… perhaps this was just another one of those examples. Whatever the reason, her primary concern was for Axel.

After checking that Axel was soundly asleep, Sachiko carefully climbed out of bed and got in the shower. She sighed as the near-scalding water ran over her skin, and considered her luck at today being a Saturday. Now Axel would at least have the weekend to mourn before having to return to school. It was a strong possibility that he would still be unable to go, but… there was a better chance that he could go through the motions. And the sooner he had _something_ else on his mind, the better. With that thought in her mind, she switched off the water and exited the shower.

As soon as Sachiko had assured herself that her hair was properly styled in the usual pigtails that came off the top of her head like two tiny tangerine explosions, her outfit was black enough for mourning but not so dark that she would be labeled as Goth, and her make-up was _just right_, she came out of the bathroom to see if Axel was awake yet. He was huddled in a corner, whimpering softly as he looked at something in the palm of his hand. Sachiko could feel tears gather at the corners of her eyes—the scene was so pitiful. _I doubt he'll ever feel completely whole…_ she thought to herself.

"Axel? Would you like to talk about it?" she inquired softly, sitting Indian-style next to aforementioned red-head. Axel nodded almost imperceptibly and began talking.

"He was… was riding his bike home fr-from that ice cream place that he works at… and s-some _idiot_ who'd had too much to drink w-went and… and t-took my R-roxas away from me… just like that… two seconds… gone…" He broke off miserably and began to cry again. Sachiko, pulling him into a tight hug, began to hum softly to him again. "What… what is that you're humming… you were humming it last night too, I think…?"

"It's called 'Morning Has Broken'... I heard it the other day; I thought it was pretty… It's quite fitting for right now. Look, see, the sun came just to see you," Sachiko said as she pulled the curtains open. A shaft of golden sunlight came to rest upon Axel, highlighting his distinct hair. Even though tear streaks ran in parallel lines down his face and the usual joking grin was replaced with a look of utter sadness, Axel still took Sachiko's breath away. _So beautiful it almost hurts…_ she thought to herself.

"It's mocking me… Being so bright and cheery during my time of mourning…" he muttered bitterly, turning away from the soft light.

"Axel…" Sachiko murmured. She wanted to reach out to him, to hug him and comfort him and promise a brighter future; but she was frozen. He was at the bottom, shattered and totally vulnerable. One wrong word, like saying the sun had come to see him, and he became even more upset. She'd have to tread carefully, very carefully.

"D-do you have any Lucky Charms?" Axel suddenly blurted. Sachiko smiled at him, resisting the urge to giggle.

"Axel, I _always_ have Lucky Charms. C'mon, I'll get you some." She took and hand and stood up, pulling him with her down to the kitchen. As she handed Axel the cereal box and watched him pour himself a bowl, she flashed back to a similar scene eight years ago.

_Eight-year-old Axel sat across the kitchen table from his best friend Sachiko. The two had been up all night watching movies, and although it was almost 11 AM, they had just woken up._

"_These are the best. Super-sweet," he said, pointing to his Lucky Charms._

"_Frosted Flakes are grrrrrrrreat, much better than Lucky Charms," Sachiko argued._

"_No way! Lucky Charms are totally the boss of Frosted Flakes!" Axel shot back._

"_Tony the Tiger could eat Lucky any day!" the girl across from him countered._

"_Lucky Charms are so amazing, I'd marry them!" he declared, jumping up in his passion for the sugary cereal. The previously occupied chair fell backwards, hitting the ground with a resounding crash. Sachiko put a hand to her mouth to stifle the uncontrollable laughter. "It's not funny! I'm serious!" Axel said with a pout. Sachiko stopped laughing, but a grin remained stuck on her face._

"_Then I now pronounce you husband and cereal! You may kiss the bride," she giggled, holding out the box to her flame-headed friend. In a fit of childish ridiculousness, Axel grabbed the box and kissed it passionately, as if he really had just married it._

"_What are you two doing now?" a man's voice inquired from the doorway. Sachiko looked up giggling at her father and Axel pulled away from his "bride"._

"_Axel married our Lucky Charms!" the little girl announced cheerfully. Her dad blinked, and the shook his head and left. Who could ever understand those two? As long as they were having fun and didn't break anything… he didn't really need to worry._

Almost laughing out loud at the fond memory, Sachiko sat down and poured herself a bowl of the ever-present (and definitely far better) Frosted Flakes. Axel may not be the carefree child he was when he declared that marriage… but Sachiko would work hard to restore the level of happiness their life had had that day.

**Author's note:** Ok, I broke my promise. T.T I'll try to make it up to you guys. Now the REASON I didn't update when I said I would is because so many people read and didn't review!!! I'm serious, I only got like 3… and two of those were from people I had asked to read my fic. So, c'mon people! Try to guess what color Sachiko's hair is! And, to clear something up, the hint for prologue is that the color is MENTIONED, but not in reference to her hair. And I've upped the ante. If you get it right, you'll be included in Sachiko and Axel's group of friends. The others are Demyx, Zexion, Sora, and Riku. No, there is no soriku. I MIGHT put in zemyx (or dexion, whatever). Let me know in your review if you want that pairing.


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